That stench you smell is the one where the pieces do not add up. This week we hear:

1) Reese saying that he is here “to support Tom.”2) the news that Gilbride, our wonderful QBs coach who was responsible for Manning’s development, get rewarded for that great effort with a promotion to Offensive Coordinator. Pls note that this is the FIFTH time Gilbride has been a coordinator. 3) from Reese that “it really kind of makes me sick to look at the playoff games going on right now – even with all of the injuries and the bad situations that happened to us this season, the tough schedule and all of that is well-documented. Our team is good enough to still be playing right now.”4) Reese give us another winner: “I’m looking forward to Tom being here a long time.”5) from Phil Mushnick a plea to Reese to have the Giants play with professionalism and respect, not the thuggish and irresponsible ways of MANY Giants players this year. Lose the taunting, lose the headbutts, lose the personal fouls gone wild, he begs.6) Reese on Manning: “Obviously we need to get our quarterback playing at a high level.”

MADNESS ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Reese support Tom? Bullbleep! Tom works for the GM.*Gilbride our Off. Coord? Coughlin stayed inside because he did not want his players getting a whole new system from a different coord. We ‘settled.’ *Reese openly admits to thinking how we could have been much further along because the players we have are good enough, yet he simultaneously believes Coughlin can be here for a long time. What? All of this is Lewis and Hufnagel’s fault?*Mushnick wants Reese to find players who play responsibly and weed out the ones who do not. But isn’t that the job of the head coach to enforce a code on his players (and himself) to have decorum? Isn’t that the coach’s realm?*Since when is the GM involved in player assistance? It is the job of the GM to supply the coach with as many good players possible to win a championship, including bringing in new players at EVERY position and challenge for first string jobs.

Every one of the above items has one thing in common- they all seem to deflect criticism and responsibility away from the head coach and on to others. Manning’s poor play and lack of improvement the past two years is Hufnagel’s fault. If players are acting w/o class, it is because they were poor choices of Accorsi, not because Coughlin can’t have stiff consequences and appropriate responses for these players. We underachieved because of Hufnagel and Lewis, not Coughlin.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. THE PIECES DO ADD UP. The trail of the stench goes back to Coughlin. Have you EVER heard of a head coach firing the off. coord. AND def. coord. the same year? It does not happen. If it ever gets to that point, the head coach loses his job and the entire staff is disbanded.